While Gran Theft Auto may be one of the most successful videogame franchises ever released, it’s also one of the most controversial spurning multiple lawsuits including the infamous Hot Coffee episode. Rockstar Games may have thought such lawsuits were all in the past, but a new one has just appeared from a very unlikely source.

Michael Washingto a.k.a. “Shagg”, is an American model, and he’s suing Rockstar and publisher Take Two for basing the main character CJ in GTA: San Andreas on his life. Not only does Shagg believe that CJ looks like him, but his youth is the same, so Rockstar clearly stole it without his permission.

The only evidence Shagg has in this case is the fact he spoke with Rockstar about his life when they were researching for the game. He was told he’d be contacted if they used him, but they never did, and went ahead anyway.

Apparently Shagg is listed in the San Andreas credits under “Talent”, so he was referenced. But apparently this isn’t enough and the actor wants $250 million compensation.

As to why it took this long for him to take action: he never played the game and only heard about it through his nephew.

I’ll be amazed if this goes anywhere. The CJ character can be customized to your liking in the game, and I think lots of people could read the back story and see parts of it that are similar to their youth.

I suspect that when Shagg visited Rockstar he would have to sign some kind of contract before talking with Rockstar. That contract will contain the exact details of his role during the development of the game, and will likely nullify all claims being made by him in this lawsuit.

What surprises me most is he didn’t play the game when it came out. If you’d spent time at Rockstar discussing your life for a GTA title, wouldn’t you run out and buy it on day of release?